The Missing Hat
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Jacob loses his hat. What chaos will ensue?


_Jacob loses his hat. What chaos will ensue?_

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No, no, no, this could not be! He was positive he had left it on the bedside table, but it wasn't there. His precious lucky hat – it was missing! He had spent the last hour screaming, raging, and attacking inanimate objects whilst he searched for his beloved hat, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Where the bloody hell could it have gone?

He thought hard to the events of the past twenty-four hours. What had happened yesterday? Ah, that's right. Yesterday had been a lot of fun. He had beaten up a few people, kicked an innocent lady off her carriage, killed a few Templars and even got to climb on board a moving train to kill a few more Templars. It was the most fun he had in weeks.

Evie hadn't been too impressed with the high kill count. After the murder of Robert Strain, he had to endure an hour long lecture from his sister about the three tenants of the Creed. Of course, he hadn't listened to a single word – he never listened to her lectures, yet she continued to persist. Perhaps Evie had been the one to hide his hat as punishment for yesterday's misdoings?

With an annoyed sigh, Jacob stormed out of his room, making sure to slam the door behind him as hard as he could. If this was some sort of nasty trick… Well, there wasn't really much he could do against his sister other than argue. She was the Master Assassin after all, and was the only person who could beat him in a fight.

He spotted his allies sitting around a table, all seeming to be in deep thought. He guessed they were coming up with a plan to take out the remaining Blighters, but that was the last thing on his mind. All he cared about right now was his damned hat. "Where is it?" Jacob demanded, storming over towards the table.

Evie, Clara and Henry looked up at him with innocent expressions. "What are you talking about?" Henry asked.

"My fucking hat!" Jacob growled. "I want it back."

Evie looked at him blankly, as if to say 'we have more important things to discuss', and said, "Did you check under your bed?"

He glowered. "Yes."

"Under the pillows?"

Oh, how he was tempted to hit someone right now. "Yes."

"Maybe you lost it during the pursuit for Robert Strain," she suggested.

"I left it on the table next to my bed before we went out yesterday," Jacob explained, patience wearing thin. Evie, Clara and Henry didn't even seem the least bit concerned! "I think you took it… Now give it back, Evie."

"I don't have your hat. Besides, why would I want your hat anyway?"

He struggled to think of a response and simply ignored her question. "I'm not going to help you until I get my hat back, so you better find it," he whined. He knew he was sounding a little childish right now, but he no longer cared. The hat helped him blend in with the common people. Walking around in his hood would only attract attention from unwanted eyes. "You have an hour to own up." Before Evie could reply, Jacob turned his back and left the building.

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Once Jacob had stormed out of the bar, Evie, Henry and Clara started laughing. Evie knew it was cruel to laugh at her brother's misfortune, but he had brought it upon himself for being so careless. Besides, it wasn't often they had a chance to sit down and relax, even if it was only for a short period of time.

"His lucky hat?" Clara said, a hand clutching her stomach. Her face was a bright shade of red. There were even tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't mean to offend, but your brother is so much fun to tease. He gets so upset over nothing." She started chuckling again, unable to contain herself.

If Clara wasn't the daughter of the owner of the bar, Evie was sure her brother would've chased her down the street. The girl was in some ways quite similar to her brother in his younger years. She was always on the hunt for trouble. Evie had often seen the girl stealing coins from the counter and hiding them in a wallet when she thought no one was looking.

"You're going to have to give it back to him, you know," Henry said.

Clara pouted. "Awww, but it's his fault for just leaving it out there in the open."

"You snuck into his room and pinched it," Henry pointed out, all traces of humour now gone from his face. "As amusing as it was, we'll need his help if we're going to fight the Templars today. He's not going to cooperate without his hat."

Evie gave her an apologetic look. "Henry's right. Sorry Clara, but my brother needs his hat back." The joyful grin on Clara's face faded, replaced by a grim line. That didn't look promising. The girl lowered her head, biting down on her lower lip. Yup, definitely a troublesome sign. "Please don't tell me you lost it."

Clara started twiddling with her thumbs, clearly uncomfortable. "Well… I might've left it on a chair when I was closing the shop… and well… I kinda forgot it was there and accidentally sat on it."

Evie wasn't sure if she should laugh at the fact Jacob's precious hat was now a crushed hat, or scold the girl for being so careless. For once, Clara looked ashamed of herself, and Evie couldn't bring herself to give the girl a lecture. "Oh dear," was all she said. Jacob was not going to be happy when he found out. Poor Clara was going to receive a mouthful unless… "I can take the blame for it. He won't try and mess with me."

"You would do that?" Clara said, glancing up from her hands, face brightening.

"You've provided us useful information about our enemies. We would not have known who the Templar leaders were if not for you," Evie replied. Henry nodded. "Bring the hat to me and I'll explain the story to my brother."

Clara rose to her feet, and hurried off to retrieve the hat, then returned several moments later. The hat was flat. It was as if someone had run a carriage over it several times. She stifled a chuckle. Well, this was going to be an interesting conversation.

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Jacob returned an hour later as promised, after taking out his anger on poor carriage drivers. For some reason, pushing people off their carriages brought him great satisfaction. When he returned to the Seven Bells, he was surprised to see Henry and Clara both absent. However, his sister was there, arms crossed over her chest. Lying down before her was some black circular object.

"The hour is up. Where's my hat?" he demanded, strolling over towards the table.

She gestured down at the black flat object. "It's right here."

He raised an eyebrow and looked down. Could it be? No! His precious top hat flat? He looked up and glowered at Evie. "What is the meaning of this?"

She shrugged. "Found it in the trash, dear brother. You had way too much to drink last night, and you left your hat here in the dining area. Unfortunately, someone sat on it. This is what happens when you leave your things lying around for people to damage," she explained calmly.

He tilted his head to the side, trying to work out whether or not she was lying. "You said you knew nothing about it!" He then decided she wasn't – Evie never lied; that was usually his speciality to avoid getting into trouble. Lay the blame on someone else and pretend you knew nothing about it.

"I know how you feel about your hat, and I didn't want you to feel upset. So I pretended I didn't know anything – I'll buy you a new one, all right? There are heaps of shops selling hats. It won't be long before we find a suitable replacement."

He frowned, his anger dissipating. "But this was my favourite…" he murmured.

She stood up and walked over to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. "It's going to be all right. Come on, let's visit the shops then we'll go and find some Templars." Jacob gave his crushed hat one final look then followed his sister out of the building. If he ever discovered who sat on his hat… they'd be the first to experience the crushing pain of his new brass knuckles.

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This story was originally uploaded in 2015. It was my first story for Assassin's Creed and written in lead up to Syndicate's release. Sadly, none of my theories came to light, but I had a lot of fun writing for the fandom.


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